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CO₂ EOR Yields a 37% Reduction in CO₂ Emitted Per Barrel of Oil Produced

June 7, 2019 Category: Technology Work Area: Carbon Capture

Utilization of anthropogenic CO2 in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is a well-understood and verifiable process that can deliver CO2 emission reductions.

According to life cycle analysis done by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which includes impacts from potential increase in oil consumption, each metric ton of CO2 utilized in EOR nets a 0.63 ton emission reduction. Said another way, EOR results in 37% reduction in COemissions per barrel compared to conventional oil production. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) using anthropogenic CO2 provides an important way to stimulate the development of the infrastructure needed to capture and store large amounts of CO2 consistent with decarbonizing the energy system to meet 1.5°C goals.

This fact sheet provides a quick explanation of the net CO2 emission reductions from EOR in two ways: on a per barrel basis and on a per ton basis.